Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Regional Studies

at University of Lethbridge - Lethbridge Campus Canada

A General Major in the Social Sciences, unlike a single discipline major, allows you to customize your course selection to your interests and abilities. Where you compromise depth of focus in one area, you gain breadth of knowledge in a few key areas, thus increasing your flexibility. This multidisciplinary approach provides access to the "big picture" or the wider context of any subject area. Conversely, the courses you choose can enhance your focus, and provide a cross-discipline perspective on one particular theme.

Students choosing a general major in the social sciences select three disciplinary streams from the following:

• Anthropology
• Archaeology
• Economics
• Geography
• History
• Kinesiology
• Native American Studies
• Political Science
• Psychology
• Sociology
• Women & Gender Studies

As a student participating in a General Major degree program, you’re not limited to studying only within your three streams. As part of your liberal education, you will be required to take classes outside your major(s). This allows you to develop skills and experience in all three streams.

History as an academic discipline examines the past to explain how we got to where we are today. We live in a world that is politically, economically, and socially complex; to engage it effectively and better understand ourselves, we must first understand the many historical factors that shape our lives. Historians work to sharpen the collective memory of society.

As a history student, you’ll learn about great leaders of the past and what ordinary people believed and valued - how they lived, worshipped, worked, fought and died. You’ll have the opportunity to take thematic and regional courses in ancient, medieval and modern history from the geographic areas that shaped our world today.

We are confident that our courses, as well as our diverse areas of expertise, will offer something of interest to everyone studying history at uLethbridge.

A general major in the sciences, unlike a single discipline major, allows you to customize your course selection to your interests and abilities. Where you compromise depth of focus in one area, you gain breadth of knowledge in a few key areas, thus increasing your flexibility. This multidisciplinary approach provides access to the "big picture" or the wider context of any subject area. Conversely, the courses you choose can enhance your focus and provide a cross-discipline perspective on one particular theme.

Students choosing a general major in the sciences select three disciplinary streams from the following:

• Archaeology
• Biological sciences
• Chemistry
• Computer science
• Geography
• Kinesiology
• Mathematics
• Neuroscience
• Physics
• Psychology

As a student participating in a general major degree program, you’re not limited to studying only within your three streams. As part of your liberal education, you will be required to take classes outside your major(s). This allows you to develop skills and experience in all three streams.

Experience learning
Our students have a number of experiential learning opportunities available to them including co-operative education, international exchanges, independent and applied studies as well as volunteer opportunities. uLethbridge is the only university in Alberta to offer co-operative education to all majors in the arts & sciences, at both the undergrad and grad level. Transfer students can actually head out on their first work term before ever stepping foot on campus! For example, many transfer students have completed a summer work term before starting classes in September.

Philosophy investigates fundamental questions about the nature of things; about the universe as a whole, about human beings, society, science, ethics and art.

As a philosophy student, you will learn about the basic intellectual foundation for our political, social and legal systems, as well as our understanding of the principles of modern science and technology. You will explore deep theoretical, practical and moral issues that do not easily fit into more specialized disciplines.

Philosophy will challenge you with its reflective and critical approach to important, often puzzling, questions about the nature of right and wrong, time and space, perception, and the human mind.

Philosophy pays careful attention to its own long history, spanning more than 2,500 years. These early investigations are the focus of the department’s courses on ancient, early modern, late modern and 20th-century philosophers and philosophical movements.

There are numerous branches within the study of philosophy, touching virtually every topic; from questions about the existence of God, through to aesthetic principles, and the concepts of space and time:

• Justice and goodness: Investigates questions about right and wrong, or good and evil, such as biomedical ethics or environmental philosophy.
• Truth and reality: Looks at truth and reality through areas such as logic, metaphysics, epistemology and the philosophy of science.
• Social philosophical concerns: Delves into fundamental social philosophical issues addressed by political philosophy, ethics and the history of philosophy itself.
• Scientific philosophical concerns: Focuses on the conditions under which enquiry produces genuine truth and accurate representations of objective reality.
• Human creativity and artistic expression: Evaluates concepts like beauty in disciplines such as aesthetics and the philosophy of art.

The Department of Modern Languages & Linguistics offers instruction in three languages: French, Japanese and Spanish (beginner to advanced). Small class sizes, cutting-edge language-learning technology and the diverse expertise of our instructors ensure you’ll find studying languages to be a lively and satisfying experience.

In today's globalized context, students of modern languages are being prepared for membership in a global community that extends far beyond the boundaries of the English-speaking world. The study of modern languages is about far more than just learning how to communicate in another language. It’s about exploring other identities and values through language, literature, history and culture in a global community.

Students who study French will gain awareness of other cultures through courses in language, literature, and culture and civilization, and through academic and living experiences in francophone Canada or abroad.

Economics is a behavioural science that studies the conditions under which individuals provide the best possible satisfaction of their needs. It is not specifically about money, things or material objects - it’s about the consequences of individual decisions made under conditions of scarcity.

Everybody thinks of and deals with economics whether they are aware of it or not. It concerns everybody and everything, transcending time and space, and is at the core of our civilization and human existence. It is a means of looking at all human interaction, regardless of culture, race or gender.

As an economics student, you will gain a deep understanding of the decision making process at the individual, firm or government level. You will learn how unhampered market processes lead to efficient production of goods and services, and the effects of interfering with these processes.

You will deal with a variety of topics, such as the comparison of economic systems, the economics of marriage and family, as well as banking and private property rights. You’ll also delve into current concerns like employment, inflation, government bailouts, the national debt, nonrenewable resources, agriculture and the environment.

Computer science is the study of algorithms and data structures and their applications in designing new and efficient solutions to industrial, technological, environmental or social problems.

Learn to tackle difficult problems using a variety of high-tech tools and approaches, and effectively communicate your expertise to others by coupling your technical learning with a solid grounding in liberal education.

The program is designed to enable you gain both theoretical knowledge and practical experience, including access to state-of-the-art hardware and software in our three computer labs whenever you need to use them.

Psychology delves into what makes people tick. Psychologists study the relationship between mind and behaviour by investigating the nature of thought processes and behaviours in humans and other animals.

Psychologists also study the evolutionary, social and cultural factors affecting the development of our thoughts and behaviours, focusing on topics that have a direct bearing on our day-to-day experience.

A major in Psychology will help you develop skills in analyzing and interpreting complex material, particularly as it relates to behaviour. You will learn theories of how people interpret the world and act in it, as well as theories of human behaviour.

As a psychology student, you will learn from those at the forefront of psychological research. Our faculty members are regularly published in the top journals and make an ongoing contribution to an ever-advancing field.

You will inevitably become a savvy and critical consumer of evidence-based information related to people’s behaviour such as self-help, psychological and medical advice.

The Department of Geography and the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science offer instruction leading to the multidisciplinary major in computer science and geographical information science. The program is structured to provide a firm theoretical, technical and applied background in the geographical information sciences (GIS) that draws extensively on computer science foundations.

This major provides a strong basis for further study at the graduate level in an established field of research, while also providing training in an area of employment opportunity that neither the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science nor the Department of Geography alone can provide.

Geographical information science (GIS) | GIS involves the use and analysis of digital maps, databases, models and mobile applications, as well as navigation and spatial integration tools. Major GIS application areas include remote sensing, geographical information systems, computer graphics, image processing and mapping and spatial modelling. These rely on advanced computer science algorithms and software development, platform integration, hardware design and operating system principles. The major provides applied training coupled with a solid theoretical and developmental foundation.

The demand for skilled individuals in the field of computer science has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. By studying computer science at uLethbridge, you will gain a broad technical knowledge, coupled with a sound liberal education. You'll graduate knowing how to tackle difficult problems using a variety of hardware, software, and programming languages, and to communicate your expertise to others.

Computer science spans theory and practice, and requires thinking in abstract and concrete terms. The practical side of computing can be seen everywhere — a myriad of us walk around with miniature computers/smartphones in our pockets, and many can even program them. Getting computers to do what you want them to do requires intensive hands-on experience. On a higher level, computer science can also be considered a science of problem solving.

About the Computer Science major
As a computer science major, you'll be involved in a science that has revolutionized the world. Astonishing advances are being made constantly and intense research is carried out by our faculty and students. Among the areas you'll study are programming, digital systems, database management systems, data structures, and computer architecture. Most graduates have careers programming in industry, where a constant shortage of computer scientists results in steady employment.